Challenger Sergey Karjakin has seized a 4.5-3.5 lead in his title match with Magnus Carlsen, preventing a record-tying world championship sequence of eight initial draws by winning with black in a heart-stoppingly dramatic game that was far more excitement and emotion than precision. The champ now has only four games left to solve the invincibility enigma posed so far by his Russian adversary.

by GM Jonathan Tisdall

Inkling

‘Think we’ve had our calm, time for a real storm.’ I launched that into the Twittersphere to gauge the online mood before today’s game. The response seemed to indicate a lot of people expecting real action today. I assumed that we were feeling the law of averages, the accumulated tension from the seven-game deadlock.

The prediction game is very hard: in game eight I am going for a Carlsen win. Another long grind.

I think it’s safe to say that none of the people predicting a breakthrough today, no matter who for, anticipated just what kind of a spectacle they were in for.

Business as usual?

Carlsen appears not particularly satisfied with the opening phase of the game. Photo: Maria Emelianova

«I hope he attacks with white,» Carlsen manager Espen Agdestein told VGTV i New York. «The tension is rising and rising. Errors have to be avoided.» Espen added that both players were afraid to fall behind, so it was hard to foresee what kind of a game it would be. «I hope he’s as relaxed as possible and plays his game, and doesn’t think about it being a dramatic situation in a good title match.» There was a lot of insight in that pre-game quote.

I felt ex-Carlsen second Jon Ludvig Hammer’s assessment of Magnus’ apparently limp first moves was spot on – «This is the perfect opening for Magnus Carlsen – ‘all pieces on board – game on’,» Hammer said. It was the champion’s mantra – Faith in his own fundamental playing strength, to hell with detailed preparation.

Chess24.com pundit Peter Svidler had similar thoughts, opining that Magnus is winning the opening duel in the match, by always getting what he wants. This has been the conventional wisdom throughout, that the Norwegian had to avoid stepping on a Russian mine in the opening as black, and get regular pressure with white. There was an interesting opposing view from another world star.

The fact that Carlsen does not enter a single main line is pleasant for Sergey and his team. #carlsenkarjakin

Interesting. I would have thought it made the team look and or feel unemployed. Surely their job was to anticipate where he would go and ambush him? Maybe not… Before long, there were other critical voices as there was a distinct lack of the speed and precision that the champion displayed in earlier games.

Carlsen is down by about 20 min on the clock in spite of having white #CarlsenKarjakin It shows his lack of familiarity with this opening.

Tick, tock

Magnus Carlsen – Sergey Karjakin game 8. Photo: Maria Emelianova

Once again, much of the action was hidden beneath the surface. Sergey appeared to have another chance to try and seize the initiative, but for whatever reason, kept focused on staying solid and avoiding risk. Svidler’s banter partner Jan Gustafsson diagnosed the situation, concluding that Karjakin would always choose the safest option, even over favorable complications. Was this designed to drive Magnus crazy, or just a fundamental philosophy – nothing silly, no defeats?

Meanwhile, today’s pace was glacial. Of course, to the savvy spectator, that meant delayed gratification. A time scramble could be in the offing, and even if things were still tepid, there was plenty of material on the board. And remember how much entertainment they drummed up with almost no tools in game three.

There has been no release of the tension so far. Don't be surprised if a blunder comes at some point #CarlsenKarjakin

As Magnus took more and more startling decisions to amp up complications – and the risk factor – by compromising his position in search of aggression, it became impossible to ignore that this was not the harmony-driven Carlsen, but one revved up by either ambition or overconfidence. He was going to turn this thing up until the arrow went past the red zone, someone was going down today.

Anyone who complains about boring match is not allowed to watch any more games, ever. #CarlsenKarjakin

Ultra-V

Photo: Maria Emelianova

As the game spun into a wild time scramble, Carlsen’s determination reached terrifying heights, but it was a chess version of street violence, like watching someone under restraints trying to batter his foes with his face. Suddenly he was lost, then somehow he headbutted his way back in the final seconds. When Carlsen walked offstage after reaching the time control, he looked confident again.

To be honest, I have always understood the comparison between chess and boxing, solitary mental and physical extremes that have many similarities despite appearing to be polar opposites. One microsecond of distraction can cost you everything, brutally, painfully, instantly, no matter what went before. Magnus still had some hurdles to clear after move 40, but stumbled as Sergey posed maximum problems and doled out precise punishment. An unpleasant defensive task ended in an abrupt attack. The challenger had ended the run of draws, winning with black.

[Event "Carlsen-Karjakin World Chess Championshi"]
[Date "2016.11.21"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E14"]
[WhiteElo "2853"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "jt"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]
[WhiteClock "0:29:57"]
[BlackClock "0:17:49"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 {I can’t prove it, but I expected this. It seems to
fit in perfectly with a progression of London systems and Tromps that Magnus
has used with white. It fits the bill of being surprising, anti-theoretical,
and offering full scope for a long man-to-man fight. The only odd thing is
that he played slowly, as if this was a decision but not one backed up with
full preparation.} e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Bb2 b6 8. dxc5 {
This is not the standard Colle-Zukertort procedure, White usually maintains
central pawn tension for as long as possible.} Bxc5 9. Nbd2 Bb7 10. Qe2 Nbd7
11. c4 dxc4 12. Nxc4 Qe7 13. a3 a5 14. Nd4 Rfd8 15. Rfd1 Rac8 16. Rac1 Nf8 {
Black has a plan, while white’s next moves seem oddly passive.} 17. Qe1 Ng6 18.
Bf1 Ng4 19. Nb5 {This looks very risky, sending a piece offside while storm
clouds appear to be gathering on the other flank. Now commentators wanted some
aggression from Sergey, with} Bc6 (19... Qg5 {which leads to great but
apparently favorable complications. These are not so easy to navigate in a
tense match situation, and Sergey continues with his strategy of sticking to
solidity and harmony rather than risk.}) 20. a4 Bd5 21. Bd4 Bxc4 22. Rxc4 (22.
bxc4 $5 {looks like a more logical way of injecting imbalance into the game
than what Magnus chose, but he does manage to achieve total chaos in mutual
time pressure with his method.}) 22... Bxd4 23. Rdxd4 Rxc4 24. bxc4 {This
shocked and baffled most commentators. Making structural weaknesses with less
material clearly raises the risk factor for white, but both players were
running short of time and Magnus is hell-bent on creating crises.} Nf6 25. Qd2
Rb8 26. g3 Ne5 27. Bg2 h6 (27... Ned7 28. Na7 {is annoying, so Karjakin
prepares to get an improved version if needed.}) 28. f4 {Another committal
lunge – most people felt this was going to end in perpetual check after a
burst of violence, but …} Ned7 29. Na7 Qa3 30. Nc6 Rf8 31. h3 $5 {Insisting
on total chaos as they run out of time.} (31. Rxd7 Nxd7 32. Qxd7 Qxe3+ 33. Kf1
Qc1+ 34. Kf2 Qxc4 35. Bf1 {is presumably drawish.}) 31... Nc5 32. Kh2 Nxa4 33.
Rd8 (33. e4 {and}) (33. g4 {are both alternate routes to chaos.}) 33... g6 34.
Qd4 Kg7 35. c5 $2 {Now it’s a blitz game, and this is a miscue of a trick.
Karjakin pointed out that} (35. Ne5 {was better.}) 35... Rxd8 36. Nxd8 Nxc5 37.
Qd6 Qd3 (37... Qa4 {was considered better but in time pressure Karjakin
thought he had worked out a win and was not sure about} 38. Qxb6 {here.}) 38.
Nxe6+ fxe6 39. Qe7+ Kg8 40. Qxf6 a4 41. e4 {Karjakin said in the press
conference that he had forgotten this was possible when he calculated this
line in the scramble. The game enters a new phase of messiness.} Qd7 42. Qxg6+
Qg7 43. Qe8+ Qf8 44. Qc6 {This was interpreted as resumption of ambition from
the champion, but Karjakin was planning} (44. Qg6+ Kh8 {avoiding a repetition
and trying to exploit his a-pawn. He could not assess the objective result
though.}) (44. Qb5 $5 {might be best.}) 44... Qd8 45. f5 a3 46. fxe6 Kg7 47. e7
(47. e5 a2 48. Qf3 {was expected by Karjakin.} Qe7 {keeps the game alive.} ({
Not} 48... a1=Q 49. Qf7+ Kh8 50. e7)) 47... Qxe7 48. Qxb6 Nd3 $1 49. Qa5 (49.
e5 {to activate the Bg2 looks called for.}) 49... Qc5 $1 50. Qa6 Ne5 {This is
very unpleasant for white – the Bg2 is dead, and black’s knight can shelter
his king while his Q tries to usher in the a-pawn. Carlsen cracks at once.} 51.
Qe6 $2 h5 $1 52. h4 $2 (52. Qa6 {was the only try.}) 52... a2 $1 (52... a2 53.
Qxa2 Ng4+ 54. Kh3 (54. Kh1 Qc1+) 54... Qg1 55. Qb2+ Kg6 $1 56. Bf3 Nf2+) 0-1

Emotion

As Norwegian broadcast partners cornered Karjakin, Magnus stormed past, ignoring his home press, and went directly into the conference room. After a few minutes waiting for the winner’s interviews to finish, the champion suddenly changed his mind and stormed out.

«I can’t take waiting here for him,» Magnus told his manager. «I can’t do it.» Espen ran after the departing champion, but couldn’t convince him to stay. According to state broadcaster NRK this breach of contract could be very costly for the Norwegian – the maximum penalty is supposed to be 10% of a player’s purse, so potentially a 40,000-60,000 euro fine.

The organizers would not comment but NRK reports that Agon and FIDE were discussing the matter on Monday night.

A video of the incident has been made available by Agon.

Control

A slightly weary Sergey Karjakin revealed no sign of triumph, giving more calm and cheerful answers to the press. Photo: Maria Emelianova

Meanwhile, the unflappable Sergey Karjakin carried out his communication duties, looking very much the way he has the entire event. Grounded and consistent. There was no visible elation. «I feel great – to win against Magnus in a tough game is incredible. At some point Magnus probably overestimated his position, he should try to make a draw somehow. After time control I think black is better, but he could defend better,» was the sober assessment. He refused to discuss how decisive this moment might be. «One of us had to win sooner or later, and I am happy that this person was me.»

Alone with the gathered press, Karjakin tried to explain what had happened in the frenzied time scramble, what he had seen and what he had missed. Some of his closing remarks made a great impression on me.

Mirror image

«I don’t want to say Magnus played badly today. He really tried, he sacrificed two pawns, created very interesting game. Thanks to Magnus it was a big day,» Karjakin said. Asked if he ever felt in trouble in the first session he said: «No. I just thought the position was completely crazy and that anything might happen. But I was a pawn up and I hadn’t played badly to be lost.»

On the recurring topic of colors: «I repeat, it is much better to play well than to play white,» he smiled. «There are still four games and basically anything can happen. I don’t want to speak about who is favorite – I am sure it will be a big fight.»

And suddenly I wondered – maybe the pundits had it all wrong. Maybe Karjakin had focused on being just like Magnus. Not caring about colors, or openings, and that was why the match was looking the way it did. He has prioritized facing his opponent – and readied himself above all – to just play. And he refuses to be distracted, not even by winning, or leading, until this match is done.

The champ

Enormous interest in the press conference, but this time the World Champion failed to show up. Photo: Maria Emelianova

Now Carlsen faces the ultimate test of character that so many of his predecessors – Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand – endured; coming from behind. NRK spoke to sister Ellen, who had watched the nerve-wracking performance, and asked what was ahead on the rest day.

«He must reset and do what he usually does,» she said. «I don’t think he had seen that this was possible earlier today. He must release the tension in his body now. We will just try to act like nothing has happened and try to find out what he wants to do.»